Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-11-07
CORRECTING An ERROR.


The Governor of Dakota Faisified the
Record Facts and Figures Relative
TO the Militia.
st. Paul Pioneer Press: In the Bis
marck Tribune of Oct. 20 appeared the
following statement regarding the cost
of the three encsmpments OF militia
which have been held at Fargo, Aber-
deem sndHuron:
The encampment at Fargo cost S22,-
coo and 81 900 appropriated by the peo-
pis Of Fargo The encsmpment at Aber
deem cost $4,000 and 81 800 donated by
che citizsns, while the Huron eEeamp-
ment, with no donation by the people,
cost less that $l2 600.
These figures came from The executive
office, furnished rs . reliable statement
of the facts In each case. In another
paper the cost of the Huron enosmp-
ment is given at $l2,245, and the special
attention of Gov. Pierce Is invited to
the figures in display headlines.
AS was remarked last week, ii seemed
Incredible that the governor of the terri
tory would make snch n statement as
this in the direct face OF the records, but
it came nevertheless 1t is answered
here to show the. people of the territory
how much reliance can be placed on the
statements made by Gov. Church even
in his Official capacity aud certified TO be
true by his own hand.
The article charges that SO 900 was
expended at Fargo and SIS 900 at Aber-
deem, making just $500 Q Tor the two
encampments. Now mark how plain
u tale shall put this falsehood down
10 the detailed statement furnished q
st. Paul paper we find the following:
At the end of the fiscal year of Nov. 80
last the deficiency in the militia accounts
after the appropriation of the two years
allowance OF $4,000 had been expended
was $4,000, which was paid ont OF the
general fund by the former administra-
ton. This still left six months hrmory
rent due to- the nineteen companies, a
total OF 81, $50; also the clothing allow
anoe OF these companies, which amount
to {. 1000
1t is said that there are also modem
tails which will bring this up to nearly
Sc, 900, but no items are given, and so
the twoampunts are taken as they stand
These figures are not correct, but we
take them as given, because we wish to
start from their own basis. We have O
total then as follows:
Appropriation expended as per above. !. S2S,000
Paid from general fund by former ad- 700
pa Ids nv nresent naturalization for bal. 'o
hnce of clothing acknowledgements. 5000
Paid by present administration for ar 49,,
mory rent......-....... ...r.-........ A'eoo
Total ....s..,....... .ss-As.s $50. PAU sVo
This, according to their own state
ment, is the entire amount expended by
or op aceount OF the former edministra~
ton, $32. 500 being expended by the
former territorial officers and S. 1850 by
the present officials. The sum named.
observe, is only $3.50 more than 1t Is
charged was expended for the two en-
oampmepts alone at Fargo and Aber-
deem. But every other expense WAS
paid es we'll. On Monday last several
inquiries in writing were addressed to
Auditor Ward, among which were the
following:
What was the amount paid on account
OF armory rent for the two years ending
Merch i, 1887? Answer. From the
records of the office, 81 .595.
What was the amount paid Tor uni
forms for the two years ending March
l., 1887? Answer. Nine Thousand seven
houdred dollars.
What was the amount for incidentals,
allowance for regiments, etc. not inolud.
ed in encampment expenses? Answer
Eight hundred dollars and ninety-siz
cente; or o total OF $l8.l0S SO.
Taking this amount from the $40,35(
!, given as the total expenditure as above
ard we have S22,24l.0 rs the coat OF the
two encempments, or Just $lS ,75S, 96 less
man who presides over the destinies oil
Dakota.
Even this is in excess of the amount
but we take the figures as furnished by
4 his own statements. The fact is, the
:. Fargo encampment cost the territory
about $14 900, and that at Aberdeen
: little more than half as much. TIL.
Q Fargo assemblage was the first in thu
territory; il was an experiment, and wa
q participated in by nearly or quite @ thou
sand men. Experience was o Root
teacher and proved valuable in the sec
u ond encampment,: where the expens
was reduced, as we heve said, to q llttll
more than half the first.
Under the law as 1t existed at bot
these encampments, the men we're pal,
y 81 so per day. Under the new law the.
are paid but half this sum. Yet accord
ing to the governors own showing, til
i, camp at Huron cost $l2,245 which woul'
. be at the rate of $24 400 for two, Will
the two encampnents at Fargo ant
Aberdeen, with sill the disadvantage o
independence in the former case. ant
with more than four hundred more mel
and double the pay, cost $4,000 less.
But that is neither here nor there
: The important fact is that o high publ
official has undertaken in this name
to deliberately misstate the facts an
falsify the records OF the territory: w
= leave him to escape the damaging fac
> as best he may.